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"When
this quite unknown young man of thirty appeared in Chicago at the
inaugural meeting of the Parliament of Religions, opened in September
1893, by Cardinal Gibbons, all his fellow--members were forgotten
in his commanding presence. His strength and beauty, the grace and
dignity of his bearing, the dark light of his eyes, his imposing
appearance, and from the moment he began to speak, the splendid
music of his rich deep voice enthralled the vast audience of American
Anglo-Saxons, previously prejudiced against him on account of his
colour. The thought of this warrior prophet of India left a deep
mark upon the United States." |
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"Infinite
power and existence and blessedness are ours, and we have not to acquire
them; they are our own, and we have only to manifest them."
"Religion is not in books, nor in theories, nor in dogmas, nor in talking, not even in reasoning. It is being and becoming."
"The living God is within you."
My ideal, indeed, can be put into a few words, and that is to preach unto mankind their divinity, and how to make it manifest in every movement of life.
Man is higher than all animals, than all angels; none is greater than man.
Truth, purity, and unselfishness - whenever these are present, there is no power below or above the sun to crush the possessor thereof. Equipped with these, one individual is able to face the whole universe in opposition.
The highest ideal is eternal and entire self-abnegation, where there is no 'I', but is Thou'.
You see many stars in the sky at night, but nor when the sun rises. Can you therefore say that there are no stars in the heavens during the day? O man, because you cannot find God in the days of your ignorance, say not there is no God.
"This infinite power of the spirit, brought to bear upon matter, evolves material development; made to act upon thought, evolves intellectuality, and made to act upon itself makes man a God . . . Be and make. Let this be our motto. Say not man is a sinner. Tell him that he is God."
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